April 10, 2009

By Becky Olsen
Special to USAHockey.com

Opportunities can present themselves at any time and any place. Just ask National Team Development Program Under-17 defenseman Kevin Clare. Clare has answered an opportunity and has helped drive the team’s success.

Clare’s opportunity came knocking when U-17 defensemen Jon Merrill and Adam Clendening were moved up to the U-18 squad. In doing so, Clare was able to seize the moment and take advantage of being allotted additional ice time in numerous situations.

“With Jon Merrill and Adam Clendening being moved up, that opened things up,” Clare said. “They were two of our top D and so when they left, that opened spots up for other players to fill in.

“Before that, I was a defensive defenseman. They played on the power plays, and I played on the penalty kill. Once they got moved up, I started playing more on the power play and it was a great opportunity to get. I am trying to take advantage of that.”

The U-17 coaching staff would completely agree with his assessment.

“With the departure of those two skilled players, Kevin has completely stepped up his game and shown to everybody that he has a lot more to his game than just being a hard-nosed, tough defenseman,” remarked U-17 assistant coach John Wroblewski. “He is exceptional with the puck, cool under pressure and can handle the power play very well.”

Through the first two NAHL playoff games with Alpena, Clare (6-foot, 185-pounds) leads the team in scoring with three points (one goal, two assists). He tallied 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 57 games this season.

“In the playoffs, every battle and fight in the corner always has an impact on the game,” Clare said. “During the regular season, you might not look at it that way. In the playoffs, you have to look at all details to win the game. We have to play with habits, hard and heart—that is what I like to say.”

That is where Clare (New Rochelle, N.Y.) stepping up and taking his opportunity to heart has given him the added confidence and drive to help the U-17 team do whatever it takes to be successful.

“We look at him to be one of the harder players, to set the tone physically and to make sure that the opponent knew when he was on the ice,” Wroblewski said. “The biggest thing with Kevin is lately he has shown such a great ability to go back for pucks and just read the situation on the breakout. As a defenseman, it is invaluable to have that knowledge and presence back there.

“On the opposite end of the puck, he has shown an absolute knack for knowing when to step up into the play and delivering pucks to the net. That has made him a great asset on the power play as well as 5-on-5.”

For Clare, that means grabbing a hold of each opportunity that has been presented and moving forward, or at least, in this case, learning to play defense.

“That is a funny story [on how I started to play defense],” Clare laughed. “I played goalie for a little while. I wanted to play forward, but there were always more forwards than defensemen on the team. My dad told me, ‘If you play defense, than you will get more ice time and get better that way.’ So, I played defense. I was always a bigger kid; I’m not that big now, but I was big growing up. Defense is just a key position.”

Once again, Clare found an opportunity and seized the chance for ice time so he could improve his game. His parents—Donal and Breda—have been his biggest supporters and helped him along the way.

“They would always take me to the rink and tie my skates and buy my equipment,” Clare said. “Between my mom and dad, they are probably the two biggest influences. They always come out to the games—a 10-hour drive from New Rochelle. They are talking about coming to Alpena this weekend—a 14-hour drive. They are dedicated.

“My parents used to take me public skating every weekend, and I would just skate around the rink and grandpa would stare at me on the glass and laugh at me while I fell,” Clare said of his early beginnings on the ice. “It became an every weekend thing and then I started playing hockey—house and worked my way up.”

That dedication and drive does not just end there for Clare. His parents have helped mold him and showed him how to take advantage of his opportunities.

“My dad was born in Ireland and played Gaelic football,” Clare said. “My dad didn’t want me to play Gaelic football as you can only take it so far. There is no pro; it is only amateur. It cannot get you into college. Basically, all it can do is get you hurt. He tried to keep me away from it. There are no benefits to that and that is something he realized when he was growing up. Football got him no where; once he got here, he had to get a job.”

For Clare, those lessons have helped him this year and in his future. He has verbally committed to attend and play hockey at the University of Michigan in the fall of 2010. For now, Clare knows he must look at the current challenge and help his team.

“The Vlad Dzurilla is the only tournament that we have won this year,” Clare said of his favorite memory this season. “We lost in a shootout to Switzerland and had to win our last game against Slovakia, which had two kids that played on the U-20 team. We knew that they would be good, but to win that, get the trophy and carry it through the airport—I thought that was the most exciting so far. Hopefully, we can win playoffs and that will be better.”

And, that is what can happen when the opportunity knocks and Kevin Clare answered the call. It his competitiveness and ability to stay calm and cool under pressure that has made him an invaluable member of the U-17 team and its defensive core.

Story courtesy of Red Line Editorial, Inc.